


the hand forced by slender aphrodite

by inkyandness



Category: Nomad of Nowhere (Web Series)
Genre: Coming Out, F/F, Pining, Skout is a fan of sapphos, sapphos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-02 11:14:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19197628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkyandness/pseuds/inkyandness
Summary: Toth had secrets. Skout had secrets. Everybody had secrets. Skout just felt like the secrets she yearned to share so badly weren’t, well…She was gay.That was the big secret she wished to share. She was a lesbian. She liked girls. She couldn’t weave, as slender Aphrodite had overcome her with the longing of a girl.





	the hand forced by slender aphrodite

There was never really a good time to bring it up.

Come to think of it, Skout didn't know why she was bringing it up at all. It wasn't relevant to the mission, and it wasn't relevant to the Nomad, so she figured that Toth wouldn't want to hear it.

But, Toth was also once somebody she considered a close friend. Closer than she is now. It’s a bit difficult to be friends with your boss, but it’s also difficult to be friends with your boss when she wants to hunt a man down for the crimes of being alive and being magical, which, was an element at play here that, while not throwing a wrench into their friendship entirely, made things a bit awkward.

Toth had secrets. Skout had secrets. Everybody had secrets. Skout just felt like the secrets she yearned to share so badly weren’t, well…

She was gay.

That was the big secret she wished to share. She was a lesbian. She liked girls. She couldn’t weave, as slender Aphrodite had overcome her with the longing of a girl.

That girl was Toth, but, that was just another one of those secrets she wouldn’t be sharing with anyone. It was a lot of things. Too kind to share, too painful to share. Toth wasn’t in the headspace for a romantic relationship, and she may never be at this rate, but, despite that, it never stopped Skout from admiring her. Her voice so thoroughly laced with pride, her buff arms, her scars, her hair…Toth was a lot like a rose, now that she thought about it, red and passionate, and as her book once read, “she who loves roses must be patient and not cry out when she is pierced by thorns.”

And so the thorns shall pierce for another day, but the pain of such an act may subside, as she approached Toth where she was making breakfast over a small campfire at the break of dawn, the dark blues of the early morning sky complimenting the colors in her hair and her face.

“Good morning, Skout, you slept…” The implied ‘poorly’ floated over their heads like the smoke of the campfire, but Toth, in all her social grace, carried on, not noticing Skout’s inattention or shaking hands. “Would you like meat for breakfast? Or eggs? I was thinking we might stop in town today to pick up some more food, and that might give us the chance to pick out somebody who saw the Nomad, or at least encourage people to look for him.”

“Sounds good.” Skout muttered, rubbing at her eyes and willing her hands to stop shaking.

“What sounds good? The meat or the eggs?”

…

“Skout-“

“I LIKE GIRLS.”

…

“What?” Toth sounded confused, but also angry. _Toth always sounds kind of angry,_ she had to remind herself, however, just because this was consistent with her character, didn’t make it any easier to hear. It felt…So accusatory. Skout felt the tears welling up in her eyes and she hid her face in her hands.

“I like girls…I’m a…”

“I know…What you’re talking about.” Toth said, and that caused Skout to open up, if only a little bit. “You’re a lesbian. It’s fine. As long as any dates or hook-ups you have don’t affect the mission.”

Skout sat up. “Oh! Of course, never!”

“Good.”

The two simply listened to the fire crackling as the sun began to rise into the sky, and the dark blue faded into an almost yellow color. Skout looked to Toth. Toth took notice.

“Yes?”

“What about you?”

“…I haven’t really had time to think about it.” Toth shrugged.

“You mean you’ve never had a crush before?” Skout gasped in shock.

“What’s up with the slumber party talk?” Toth teased.

Skout stuck out her tongue and Toth batted her away with an easy smile on her face.

“I mean, I guess there’s someone…”

“There is? Or there was?”

“Whatever.” Toth shrugged. “They’re really smart, that’s all I’m saying.”

“That isn’t nearly enough!” Skout cried, and Toth merely laughed.

“What about you?”

“Well, now that I’ve thought about it, Sapphos, obviously, but, there’s also someone else…..”

“Now who’s being vague?”

“I’m getting there. They’re uh, she’s…She’s…She…”

Toth merely waited, almost looking coy as Skout attempted to stutter out some more words.

“She could benchpress me.” Skout finally wheezed. Toth bursted out laughing. Her laugh was so rare, in battle it may only be a hearty cackle if she was on the winning side, but this…These were genuine, soft-hearted giggles. At Skout’s plight, nonetheless.

“Hey! She, she could sweep me off my feet, and I would thank her.”

“You better!”

Skout could only laugh and laugh, as Toth laughed with her. It felt…Good. Sure, she was being ribbed, but it was all harmless. It wasn’t disownment, or disappointment, or abandonment, it was…A good discussion. A kind-hearted, sort of awkward discussion, but it wasn’t a bad one to have.

“You know, if we begin riding now, the sun’ll be up and the shops’ll be open by the time we get to town. We could use the opportunity to eavesdrop on what the citizens are saying and get..I don’t know, an actual breakfast for once?” Toth suggested, standing up.

“Thanks. I’d like that.” Skout said, feeling the adrenaline still racing through her body, but more relaxed than she did before.

Toth smiled at her, warmly and kindly, as she doused the fire, and proceeded to pack up.

“Hey Toth?”

“Hmmm?”

“Thanks. F-For everything.”

“No problem at all.”

…

The silence continued until the two were saddling up their horses, and it took all of Skout’s might to ask her of this.

“Hey Toth?”

“Yes?”

“Could you…Could you tell me something else about your crush?” Skout asked, saddling up onto her horse, a little after Toth climbed onto hers. And then Toth stared. She stared and she stared and she stared.

“You know where we’re headed, right?”

“Yeah, Toth, I took the time to chart the route last night with you, I know it like the back of my hand, what does this have to do with your crush? Why would you-“

“She has the cutest freckles. Hiyah!” She said, snapping the reins of her horse and riding quickly off into the distance, leaving Skout in the dust.

She…

Her messenger of spring nightingale, with a voice of longing, had flown into the dawn like the star itself, and who was she, not to follow?

**Author's Note:**

> RoosterTeeth has forsaken my girls, and so I write for them when the company won't. I'm doing somebody's work. Probably not God's, but that's neither here nor there.  
> Whoever catches the three (3) references to Sapphos I made within this story gets some hearty finger-guns from me to you.
> 
> https://juliastartoons.tumblr.com


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